The Rarest First-Wave Amiibo and Why They Were So Hard to Find

Nintendo launched its Amiibo line on November 21, 2014, alongside Super Smash Bros. for Wii U. The first wave consisted of twelve figures: Donkey Kong, Fox, Kirby, Link, Mario, Marth, Peach, Pikachu, Samus, Villager, Wii Fit Trainer, and Yoshi. It did not take long for fans and collectors to notice that these figures were not produced in equal quantities. While characters like Mario and Pikachu were readily available, a select few became almost impossible to find at retail just weeks after launch.

The resulting scarcity created a frantic hunt for collectors and a booming secondary market where prices soared. Four figures from this initial wave consistently stood out as the most difficult to acquire: Marth, Villager, Wii Fit Trainer, and, to the surprise of many, Fox. The reasons for their rarity appeared to stem from a combination of Nintendo’s production strategy, perceptions of character popularity, and plans for future releases.

The Niche Hero: Marth

The scarcity of the Marth Amiibo was, for many, the least surprising. In 2014, the Fire Emblem series occupied a strange space in the Western market. While the franchise had seen a significant surge in popularity with the release of Fire Emblem Awakening for the 3DS, it was still widely considered a niche property compared to Nintendo’s tentpole series. For years, Marth was known to a large segment of the North American audience primarily through his appearances in Super Smash Bros. Melee and Brawl, not from his own games, which were often not localized.

Nintendo’s production decisions for Amiibo were likely based on historical sales data and brand recognition. From that perspective, Marth was a high-risk character. The company probably anticipated that demand would come from a small but dedicated core of Fire Emblem enthusiasts and Smash Bros. players who favored the character, but not from the broader casual audience buying Mario and Link. This would have justified a smaller, more conservative production run to avoid unsold inventory.

At the time, future support for the character was also uncertain. While a crossover project titled Shin Megami Tensei X Fire Emblem had been announced, very little information was available, and it offered no guarantee of Marth’s involvement. Without a major upcoming Fire Emblem title on the Wii U featuring its most famous swordsman, Nintendo had little incentive to manufacture the figure in large numbers. The decision was a logical, if ultimately flawed, calculation that underestimated the desire of collectors to own a complete set and the passion of the series’ growing fanbase.

The Unexpected Rarity: Villager

If Marth’s rarity was predictable, the Villager’s was a genuine surprise. The Animal Crossing series was one of Nintendo’s most successful modern franchises. Animal Crossing: New Leaf on the 3DS was a massive commercial and critical hit, selling millions of copies and cementing the series as a system-seller. Given this popularity, the low shipment numbers for the Villager Amiibo seemed counterintuitive.

The most likely reason centers on the core concept of the Animal Crossing series: personalization. The games are about creating a unique character and town. The player’s avatar is a personal creation, with customizable faces, hair, and clothing. The Villager Amiibo, however, is a static figure representing the default male character design from the series’ promotional art and his appearance in Super Smash Bros. Nintendo may have believed that this generic, non-customizable version of the character would not appeal to the core Animal Crossing audience, who valued individuality in their avatars.

This line of thinking suggests Nintendo perceived a disconnect between the Animal Crossing player base and the Amiibo-collecting market. They may have assumed that the casual audience that loved New Leaf would be less interested in buying a gaming figurine than the hardcore fans drawn to Smash Bros. This miscalculation left the small supply to be quickly absorbed by dedicated collectors and resellers, creating an artificial shortage for a character from an immensely popular property. The figure’s distinct, simplistic design also became a minor internet phenomenon, further driving its desirability after its initial disappearance from shelves.

The Obscure Choice: Wii Fit Trainer

Of all the first-wave figures, the Wii Fit Trainer was the one most widely predicted to be produced in low quantities. Her inclusion in the Super Smash Bros. roster was seen as a novelty, a surprising and amusing nod to the phenomenal success of Wii Fit on the original Wii. She was not a traditional video game character with a deep narrative history, but an avatar from a fitness application.

By the time the Wii U launched, the fitness game craze had significantly subsided. The console’s own entry, Wii Fit U, had failed to recapture the magic of its predecessor and sold poorly. Nintendo had access to clear sales data indicating that public interest in the IP was at an all-time low. From a business standpoint, manufacturing a large quantity of Wii Fit Trainer Amiibo would have been a significant risk. The target audience for the character was unclear, as she did not appeal to the traditional hardcore Nintendo fanbase in the same way as a character like Samus or Link.

With no future Wii Fit games on the horizon, the figure’s utility was limited almost exclusively to Super Smash Bros. for Wii U. Nintendo likely saw her as a character for completionists only and adjusted the production run accordingly. The scarcity of the Wii Fit Trainer was a self-fulfilling prophecy: she was expected to be rare because of her perceived lack of appeal, so Nintendo produced few, which in turn made her rare.

The Mainstay Shortage: Fox McCloud

Fox McCloud’s rarity was perhaps the most puzzling of all. Unlike Marth, Villager, or Wii Fit Trainer, Fox is a classic, A-list Nintendo character. As the hero of the Star Fox series and a veteran of every Super Smash Bros. game since the original, he has a strong legacy and a substantial fanbase. High demand was a given, coming from Star Fox fans, Smash Bros. players, and general Nintendo enthusiasts.

With demand clearly present, the shortage pointed toward an intentional limitation of supply. The most plausible theory at the time was related to a new Star Fox game announced for the Wii U, which was scheduled for release in 2015. With the Amiibo line still in its infancy, Nintendo’s long-term strategy was unknown. It was reasonable to assume that the company planned to release a new, separate Fox Amiibo specifically for the upcoming Star Fox title.

If that was the case, limiting the production of the Super Smash Bros. version would be a calculated business move. It would prevent market saturation, ensuring that fans would still be eager to purchase a second Fox figure a year later. Making the first version a collector’s item could generate buzz and prime the audience for a future release tied to the new game. This strategy would protect the commercial potential of a dedicated Star Fox Amiibo line. The existing high demand from the competitive Smash community and longtime fans simply overwhelmed this deliberately constrained initial supply, making him one of the hardest figures to find.